A Louisiana woman has been arrested in connection to the death of a Kansas City Telemundo reporter who was in New Orleans covering the Super Bowl, authorities announced Friday. Danette Colbert, a Slidell resident, was arrested after police found evidence that she had allegedly been using sports journalist Adan Manzano's credit card for purchases.
Surveillance footage later showed her with Manzano, according to law enforcement officials speaking to Fox8live.com. Manzano was found unresponsive in his hotel room in Kenner, a suburb of New Orleans, on Wednesday. As of Friday, the exact cause of his death remained unclear. His death was confirmed in a statement from KGKC general manager Steve Downing.
Person of Interest
It is still unclear how Colbert is connected to Manzano's death. Police haven't revealed much and it is still unclear if Manzano was murdered or under what circumstances he died. According to Kenner police, Colbert has only been charged with property-related offenses so far, including fraud and theft.
According to Nola.com, Colbert was previously accused of using a credit card that belonged to a man who claimed both his card and cellphone were stolen after he encountered a woman drinking on Bourbon Street in New Orleans in 2016.
Authorities said that she allegedly tried to use the stolen card the following day to purchase $1,600 worth of gift cards at a Walmart in Kenner, where she was subsequently arrested.
Reports also indicate that in January 2022, Colbert was accused of drugging a man and stealing $50,000 from him on the Las Vegas Strip, though McCormick was unable to verify specifics of that out-of-state case.
Court records show that in 2017, Colbert pleaded guilty to access device fraud and two counts of possession of stolen property, resulting in a three-year prison sentence.
Manzano's death was announced by KGKC general manager Steve Downing on Thursday. He said that the network is "cooperating with law enforcement as they investigate this tragic event."
"As KGKC's Sports Anchor & Reporter, Adan was a true professional and a rising star, who exemplified excellence in his work," Downing wrote in his statement announcing Manzano's death.
He continued, "We will deeply miss Adan and his passion for sports, and the contributions he made to the local community. Our thoughts and heartfelt condolences go out to his family and loved ones during this difficult time."
Tragic Final Post
According to KMBC, the ABC affiliate in Kansas City, Manzano was 27 years old. As mentioned on his LinkedIn profile, he had been employed at KGKC since April 2021. After relocating from Mexico City to Topeka, Kansas, in 2018, he went on to graduate from Kansas State, according to a KSNT story in 2024.
"I used to dream about this but I never expected that it was going to come that soon," Manzano told the outlet before Super Bowl 2024, when he worked as a sideline reporter.
"It's just a blessing."
In one of his final posts on X, Manzano shared a photo of Mahomes surrounded by a crowd of reporters during Super Bowl opening night, captioning it, "Mahomes vs el Mundo," which means "Mahomes vs. the world."
As tributes poured in for Manzano, a Mexico native who lived in Topeka, Kansas, many started sharing his tragic final Facebook post. In one of his final posts, Manzano posted a family picture of himself, his late wife Ashleigh LeeAnn Boyd, and their young daughter.
He also shared a photo of a Super Bowl 2025 sign, expressing gratitude for the opportunity to cover the event for the third time as the Chiefs aimed for a three-peat. A few months after last year's Super Bowl, Manzano's wife, Ashleigh Boyd, lost her life in a car accident when another driver veered across the center line and collided with their vehicle, according to KSNT.
Their 1-year-old daughter, who was in the car with her mother, survived the crash.
Boyd was a teacher at Lowman Hill Elementary School in Topeka. Before Super Bowl 2024, she told KSNT that Manzano had "put in so much effort for this."
With Manzano's sudden death, the couple's young child is now heartbreakingly left without both parents.
Manzano also frequently covered soccer, reporting on Sporting Kansas City, as well as Big 12 basketball and the Kansas Jayhawks.
While in New Orleans this week, he had already interviewed Travis Kelce, Patrick Mahomes, and several other Chiefs players.
